“Welcome to the post-season breakdown of the Galactic Shockball League here on the AMC1 Sports News. I’m Burk Duggins, Core Worlds correspondent, and here with us representing the Outer Rim beat is Farin Lealander."

"We've got a great program for you tonight. We'll be discussing the recently completed regular season and playoffs competitions. Some of the team franchise managers gave statements to us on this past season, and we were even able to talk with the two playoffs finalists."

Farin continues, "Speaking of Playoffs, tonight we have coverage of the first trophy ceremony as the champions receive their prize."

Burk nods, "Thanks for piping up with that, Farin! And before you tune out wait for the sit down with the league commissioner about the future of the league and what players and teams can expect for next season."

Holo images of the Asher Automatons game highlights cycle across the backdrop video display as Burk continues, "During the early part of the season the Asher Automatons were on a course to be indomitable with a shutout record. Karvainen Kummajainen continued his top tier performance as one of the most formidable Guards in the league, and Dex managed the Automatons with diligence and excellent perception."

Farin picks up as the images in the background begin featuring different teams, "But it wasn't to be. After a league rules adjustment their time in the sun started to wane - The Calaron Razors and Falleen Federals began moving steadily up the standings. For the Federals, Rael became a top scoring Center who ended up leading the league in points. The Razors' Kevin Wolff and Zero Turner made smart decisions in their training and became top talent."

Burk coughs and interjects, "Well, top talent might be a bit of a stretch but they were good, and they definitely contributed to the team's superiority." He smirks at the camera.

Farin glances sideways at Burk with a hint of distaste on his face, "Keep telling yourself that, Burk... And the Federals carried the rest of the season, although it was close at times, they stayed at the top of the chart."

“We were able to get some face-to-face time, after some thorough security vetting, with Grand Marshall Neria Derycke who managed the CorSec Panthers. Our man on the ground, Fleur D’L’heure asked her “It’s been an eventful first season for your franchise in the Galactic Shockball League! What are your thoughts on you and your players’ experience this season? How do you think your team did, and what do you have to say about the team’s future?”

“The Grand Marshal’s response was, “This first season was very educational for me and our team. We had a good solid start, wich made us experiment with line ups, sadly. This led to us dropping to the second half of the table. But, we managed to pick up again towards the end of the season. Scoring more and collecting points, that prevented us to end with the last two.

We gained a lot experience and the team, can't wait for the new season to kick off. We look forward to how the league evolves, and hope to see more teams, joining the league.” ”

Farin smiles and nods as the clip finishes, “Best of luck to you, Grand Marshall, next season is looking like it’s going to get even more competition!”

"After the league performance, the playoff match results were mostly what you’d expect with the exception of a 3-1 loss in the finals where the Razors claimed victory over the Federals! What a game that was, Burk."

"You just loved every game, didn’t you Farin." Burk says, but continues on quickly as clips of the playoff finals match begin rolling, "You can see here the Razors came out very strong with three goals all within the first half of the match! It was quite against the odds, as some of our statisticians have since computed. The victory was well won. Unlike, some might say, certain sports journalists' positions here at the studio."

Burk continued, “Following the playoff finals match, we had the opportunity to speak with both teams. Fooj Iwajo of the Razors stopped by for a comment. We asked him if he could tell us his thoughts on the outcome. His response was, “Obviously, we're very happy with the victory. We were a little nervous going into the game because the Federals had been the only team to give us trouble in the last stretch of games ending regular season. This game was tough, but we took advantage of some early defensive miscommunications to score and then we were able to maintain our lead for the win.” “

Not long after that, we spoke with a member of the runners-up, “Sentient Xojur, can you tell us your thoughts on the outcome of the match?”

Visibly frustrated, Ixzis Xojur (player-coach for the Falleen Federals) furrows his brow at the question and responds "My thoughts? The game was ours and we let it go. We had the muscle, the shooters, the speed... we knew exactly how to use it." Taking a moment to sip from a bottle of water, Ixzis' frustration begins to boil over as he forcefully tosses the bottle aside, "We have a lot of explaining to do... to the lads that sat the bench tonight... We played the Razors earlier in the season, and we took them 4-1." His voice rises to a shout as veins on his forehead bulge "The Razors are who we thought they were! If you want to crown them," the demonstrative falleen slams the podium with his fist, "then crown their ass! BUT THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE! AND WE LET THEM OFF THE HOOK!" He pauses for a moment and lights a cigarette only to flick it away immediately and storm off angrily.

The video backdrop switches to a scene of packed fans . Farin begins, "And late last week about 200 thousand fans attended the trophy ceremony held in the Shockball HQ's AMC Gibraltar Stadium.”

A camera droid casts a wide shot from far up in the stands. The entire Calaron Razors team is assembled in a neat line, the players arrayed in their game gear and shifting back in forth with anticipation. Coach Fooj Iwajo stands calmly at the end of the line holding his gaze steady on Commissioner Tholme So as he approaches, shaking his hand firmly and speaks some words into his ear. He then presents the manager with a dimly pulsing chrome lapel pin emblazoned with a shockball and faintly rippling with electricity.

The Commissioner makes his way down the line shaking hands, speaking quiet words, and handing out pins to each player on the Calaron Razors. After finishing he turns and the crowd bursts into cheers as the playoffs trophy appears along the field atop a repulsor deck, hauled by three pit droids. The trophy is made of smooth chrome rings, the uppermost ring engraved with the text, “Calaron Razors, Aurek 1”. Intricate metalwork decorates the upper set of narrowest rings which display the Shockball League’s lightning bolts and the acronym “GSL”. The pinnacle of the trophy is the nanometre-perfect chrome sphere.

It’s large, but not so large that Comissioner Tholme can’t grasp the trophy with both his arms and gently walk it over to Fooj Iwajo. Fooj takes the trophy and his team gathers around and together they hoist it victoriously over their heads. The stadium crowd erupts in cheers and applause as the deep bass thrum of music thunders through the floors and seats, and glittering confetti streams from ports all along the inside of the inner court and along the stands. Camera droids circumnavigate the jubilant team, taking in the cheering conglomeration of races from all edges of the known galaxy.

The backdrop video panel fades to a muted color with the Galactic Shockball League logo centered and still. “And with us in the studio tonight is Commissioner Tholme So himself! Good evening, comissioner.”

“Evening, Burk, good to be here.”

“So we have to say that it seems like people really enjoyed the first season of Shockball. What kinds of things are on the horizon for the future?”

“Sure, you know I have been absolutely surprised, happy, and thankful at the interest and passion from the fans, players, and teams this season. The Shockball of the past will always be a special thing for me and for many, and I’m just satisfied to be able to honor it’s memory with something that people can play together and enjoy. Now, let’s talk about next season!

“Next season will also be in Aurek play, as the league administration and development continues to iron out some important organizational structures. Some of the big features to achieve are for us to be able to support multiple leagues/divisions, to enhance the play-by-play to show more players on the court doing more things throughout the match, to revamp our broadcasting technology for the match replays so that our viewers get a top notch sports match replay experience. On the business end of the league, we’ll also be really scrutinizing the credit accounts system for teams, players, the league to ensure that when real credits start being used we will be in a confident and stable position to rely on our accounting.”

“I also have some logistical information for Free Agents, Players, and Team Owners concerning the coming season.”

”Signups to create new teams are open from now until Year 19, Day 242, with the planned first match of the new season starting in the week of Year 19, Day 245-249.”

”Existing player contracts will expire in the next week between Year 19 Day 231-235, which means that all teams will need to re-offer contracts to existing players they would like back or they have the option of offering contracts to new players. Of course, players also have the option of declining to re-sign with their old team and may accept whatever offer they desire.”

”There was an issue where the transfer market display systems were showing the incorrect player skill ratings for all league players - this has been fixed! At the same time, all existing and new players in the league will have to go through a rolling registration of sorts, as we are going back to the basics on how players consider and grow their skills. So make sure to log into the league portal and ensure your player is setup with your preferences correctly!”

”That covers the relevant information for the coming season. And looking far to the future, the league has set a Besh start goal of Year 19, Day 311. That will be when the real credits start to flow, so ready yourselves!”

”As always, git gud and hit hard, shockballers.”

Farin smiles and adds, “May your balls be shocked and your-”

“Real professional, you offworld, south-arse…”, Burk mutters, clears his throat loudly, and carries on, “And that’s the coverage from the Galactic Shockball League tonight! Keep up with the newest details and news here on AMC1. Until next time, this is Burk Dug-”

“And I’m Farin Lealander.”

Burk pauses to stare, eyes smoldering at Farin, then continues smiling into the camera, “And if you want any additional information, please check the information links! Good night!”